Money Management

QUIZ: Are Your New Year's Goals SMART?

Making New Year's resolutions is a time-honored tradition. So is giving up on them. If you want to create resolutions you can actually achieve, make them SMART:

Specific – Know exactly what you want to accomplish. Write it down and include all the relevant details.

Measurable – Give it specific criteria so you can track your progress. For instance, if you want to lose 40 lbs., set a goal to lose 2 lbs a week and record your weight each week.

Attainable – The goal can be challenging, but make sure it’s reasonably within your grasp. If your goal is to sail to the Bahamas, but you don’t know the first thing about sailing, then a better goal right now would be to learn how to sail in 12 months.

Relevant – Is it consistent with your other life goals? If one goal is to save more money, but this year’s resolution is to buy a luxury car, then decide which goal is more important to you and modify the other competing goal.

Time-bound – Give it a deadline, a target date. This helps you to prevent other tasks from taking priority over it. Then celebrate when you cross the finish line!

Take this quiz to help you create your own SMART New Year’s Resolutions.